Roger and Carolyn Kearns Engineering Scholarship Endowment

Roger and Carolyn Kearns grew up in Ohio, and though they didn’t know each other well in high school Roger remembers being in a chemistry class with Carolyn. She was a lab assistant to whom he often recited lab experiments, and Carolyn impressed him with her intelligence. Years later, Roger impressed Carolyn when he called her by name when they re-met on campus at Ohio State. Carolyn is an identical twin, and it was rare for somebody to go to the trouble to learn the difference between her and her sister. They began dating, and were married in September 1959.
Both Carolyn and Roger yearned for a college education as high school students, and Carolyn readily earned her nursing certificate from Grant Hospital. She had the support of her family and she worked at the hospital. For Roger higher education was more of a challenge. He was a good student, and his parents encouraged him in his studies, but they barely made ends meet on their small dairy farm, and they could not support Roger financially . “We were poor,” Roger says. He worked summers and during college to pay his way, and though he started out with a small scholarship he was unable to keep high enough grades to maintain it. After failing a couple of classes, Roger finally borrowed some money from his family so that he could focus on his studies and finish his coursework. Eventually, he obtained a degree in Petroleum Engineering.
While Carolyn chose to stay home with their family, Roger went on to have a very successful career. When he retired, he was the Rocky Mountain Region Production Manager of Marathon Oil in Cody, WY. During Roger’s last stop on his career journey, he and Carolyn became engaged in the life of Northwest College, and Roger served on the NWC Foundation board of directors for 20 years.
“I think Northwest College is a really special institution, a gem in the West where rural students can get a terrific education for a fair price. NWC is a great stepping stone to a 4-year institution or a career,” Roger says. He and Carolyn started their scholarship out of their belief in NWC and in the importance of a college education. “I want kids not to have to work as hard as I did, so they can focus on their education rather than on making ends meet,” Roger added. The Kearns’ scholarship, which serves engineering students who demonstrate financial need, fulfills this goal, and has helped dozens of students obtain their degrees since 2004.